MDA Announces Details for Next Round of Down Payment Assistance Grants

Applications will open August 1, 2024, for this round of funding

St. Paul, MN: The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) Rural Finance Authority (RFA) has announced details for the next round of funding for its popular Down Payment Assistance Grant program, which will open for applications on August 1, 2024.

The Down Payment Assistance Grant offers up to $15,000 for qualified farmers to purchase their first farm. Eligible applicants must earn less than $250,000 per year in gross agricultural sales, and each award must be matched with at least $8,000 of other funds. Applicants cannot be related by blood or marriage to the owner of the farmland that they intend to acquire.

While all eligible farmers are encouraged to apply, priority for this round of grants will be given to applicants with no more than $100,000 in annual gross farm product sales or applicants who are producers of industrial hemp, cannabis, or specialty crops.

After the application window closes, all eligible requests will be placed in a randomized lottery to determine the order in which grants are awarded, with the identified priority applicants being given precedence. If funding remains after the MDA has awarded grants to all priority applicants, the MDA will award as many grants as funding allows to all remaining applicants in the order of their lottery placement.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on September 15, 2024, and applicants will be notified of award decisions in late September.

Awards will remain valid for purchases closing within six months after award approval or until June 30, 2025, whichever is sooner. Farm purchases must take place after approval of the application. The MDA cannot award grants retroactively for purchases that have already happened.

To view the full grant eligibility requirements and access the RFP, visit the MDA website.

Leading up to the opening of the application window, the MDA and Farmland Access Hub are partnering to host a series of informational webinars for prospective applicants. Each webinar will focus on a different topic related to the grant program and the farm-buying process. Details on each session and how to join are below.

• Grant Overview and Preparation for Buying a Farm
  • Tuesday, July 23, 4-5 p.m.
  • Join through Zoom.

• Affordability and Financing Your Farm Purchase
  • Wednesday, July 24, 4-5 p.m.
  • Join through Zoom.
• Finding and Securing Farmland
  • Tuesday, July 30, 4-5 p.m.
  • Join through Zoom.
• Detailed Review of Grant RFP
  • Wednesday, July 31, 4-5 p.m.
  • Join through Zoom.

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